New York Protections for Breastfeeding Mothers Returning to Work

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Apr 12, 2017

New York Protections for Breastfeeding Mothers Returning to Work

Posted By
Mahir Nisar Attorney at Law

Many women who return to work after giving birth have questions about breastfeeding
mothers in the workplace and laws that are in place to protect them against
employment discrimination. Do you have the right to pump breast milk at work? There are both state
and federal protections for nursing mothers. A
fact sheet from the New York State Department of Health provides information about
the rights of breastfeeding mothers going back to work under state law, while a
fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) clarifies protections that exist
under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

If you are a breastfeeding mother in New York, what should you know about
protections against employment discrimination?

Protections Against Employment Discrimination Under New York Law

New York has a specific law that protection breastfeeding mothers from
discrimination in the workplace. The law is NYS Labor Law Section 206-C
Breastfeeding in the Workplace Accommodation Law. As the New York State
Department of Health fact sheet highlights, under this law, “your
employer cannot discriminate against you for choosing to breastfeed your
baby or for pumping milk at work.” This law comes with certain guarantees
for breastfeeding mothers, including:

Right to pump breast milk at work for three years after giving birth;

Right to use paid break or meal times, as well as reasonable unpaid break
times, in order to pump breast milk;

Right to request a private place to pump breast milk, and the expectation
that the employer will attempt to accommodate that request;

Right not to be discriminated against for choosing to pump milk at work; and

Right not to be retaliated against for asserting rights to pump milk at work.

The fact sheet recommends that women who are planning to go on maternity
leave have a conversation with their employers about what they will need
when they return to work. Specifically, you might discuss the possibility
of a private and convenient place for you to pump breast milk.

Federal Protections for Nursing Mothers

What federal protections exist for breastfeeding mothers when they return
to work? There is no specific federal law that is analogous to the New
York state law that attends precisely to workplace accommodations or protections
for nursing mothers. However, Section 7 of the FLSA “requires employers
to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk
for her nursing child for one year after the child’s birth each
time the employee has need to express the milk.”

The FLSA also requires that employers “provide a place, other than
a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers
and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.”

To be clear, these protections are part of protections surrounding break
time under the FLSA.

Discuss Your Case with an Employment Discrimination Attorney in New York